Brockhill Country Park is in Saltwood, near

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. The park was a former estate with landscaped gardens and has subsequently been sub-divided. The house now forms the main building for a performing arts college, whilst the gardens and lake now form part of the country park.

History

It was previously once part of a large estate, dating back to Norman times. The old manor house is adjacent to the park. This was once Brockhill Park, now used as the main building of

Brockhill Park Performing Arts College Brockhill Park Performing Arts College (BPPAC) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Saltwood, Kent near the coastal town of Hythe. The school is located next to Brockhill Country Park and includes a farm. Brockhill is ...

. The estate is connected with the Tourney family, until the death of the eccentric William Tourney Tourney (the last Lord of Brockhill Manor) in 1903. Who seems to have a reputation for world travel and oddness as well as gaining an extra Tourney (to his name!). Upon his death, he is said to have ordered that his constant companions, his dog and his horse, were to be killed and buried with him. The grave of the dog is next to William's on an island in the middle of one of the lakes, that are now part in Brockhill Country Park.
/ref> Saltwood Church has references to Thomas Brokhill 1437, Thomas Tourney 1712, Mary Tourney (early 19th Century) and another Thomas Tourney in 1816.

Geography

The rest of the park, , is dominated by a large grassy valley, bisected by the Brockhill Stream, as it makes its way down to the Royal Military Canal in

and has excellent views (from the park) to the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

. There are two sign posted trails around the park ranging from 3 – 6 miles (5 - 9.6 km) long, the walks are linked to the

Saxon Shore Way The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...

, offering potential routes for long distance walkers. The lake trail takes up to 30 minutes (accessed by a sloped path), whilst the valley walk takes about 45 minutes and offers a scenic route around the valley at the southern end of the site. As well as leading around the Deer Paddock which is a meadow enclosed with trees, including

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

and variegated

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

. To the north, a short walk leads to Postling Down, an area of unimproved ancient chalk

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

. The rabbit-grazed turf is ideal for low-growing herbs and the rich mosaic of plants, providing shelter for many beautiful meadow butterflies. The park is a

Site of Nature Conservation Interest Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...

References

{{reflist Country parks in Kent Forests and woodlands of Kent Borough of Ashford Parks and open spaces in Kent